Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Tuesday, August 18, 2015
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“What page, what passage of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not the truest of guides for human life?” ~Saint Benedict, from the Rule of Saint Benedict (73:3) “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.” ~SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX Monday, August 17, 2015 ~ Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Holy Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22 A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Meditation: The young man who apparently had the best the world could offer – money, property, a position in society – came to Jesus because lacked one thing. He wanted the kind of lasting peace and happiness which his possessions could not buy. The answer he got, however, was not what he wanted to hear. He claims to have kept all of the commandments, so he must be an honest person in worldly dealings, and he obviously was a man of faith because he approached Jesus with a legitimate question. But based on the young man’s reaction to Jesus’ response, it becomes quite obvious that there is one thing that impeded the young man from giving himself wholeheartedly to God – his love of his possessions. While he lacked nothing in terms of material goods, he was possessive of what he had, and placed his hope and security in his possessions. That is why he became sad when Jesus challenged him to make God his one true possession and treasure, instead of his earthly possessions. Which begs the question – are you willing to part with your possessions in order to seek and attain everlasting joy with Jesus? Prayer: O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Contemplation: A very wise, faithful and holy priest I came to know in seminary once told us that one measure of our love for Christ, in comparison to anything else, is our attitude – do I want to spend time with Christ, do I desire from the heart to spend time with Christ, versus do I have to spend my time with Christ. The latter being the negative approach, like a child told to clean his or her room when they want to go out and play – “do I have to do this” versus wanting to do it. Apply this to Sunday Mass – do you desire to go to Mass, or do you go to Mass simply because you have to? Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of personal will, desire and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. Jesus himself is the greatest treasure we can possibly have. Giving up everything else to have the Lord as our treasure is not sorrowful, but the greatest joy. Tuesday, August 18, 2015 ~ Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Holy Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Meditation: One might wonder if Jesus was against wealth, and persons who had wealth. We know that Jesus was not opposed to wealth per se, nor was he opposed to the wealthy. He had many friends who were well-to-do, including some notorious tax collectors! One (Matthew, who wrote this Gospel) even became an apostle. Jesus’ is concerned that wealth can make us falsely independent. The church at Laodicea was warned about their attitude towards wealth and a false sense of security: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” (Revelations 3:17). Wealth can also lead us into hurtful desires and selfishness (see 1 Timothy 6:9-10). Look at the lesson Jesus gave about the rich man and his sons who refused to aid the poor man Lazarus (see Luke 16:19ff). They neglected to serve God. Only those who put their trust in God and who depend on him, and who share what they have with those in need, will find true peace, security, and happiness which lead to everlasting life and joy in God's kingdom. Prayer: O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Contemplation: Do you recognize and acknowledge our total need and dependence on God? If you do not, now is the time to recognize this truth, for only through the Lord will we find true peace, security, and happiness that can sustain us now and forever. Only God alone can satisfy our deepest need and longing – everything else is fleeting at best. Wednesday, August 19 ~ Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Saint John Eudes, Priest Holy Gospel: Mathew 20:1-16 Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Meditation: In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard we see the extraordinary generosity and compassion of God (Matthew 20:1-16). There is great tragedy in underemployment, unemployment, the loss of work, and the inability to earn enough to live and support oneself or one's family.